


Light in the Winter

by panda_hiiro



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-15 03:27:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/522636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panda_hiiro/pseuds/panda_hiiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU, one-shot. A chance encounter brightens a winter day for Jade Harley.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Light in the Winter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [level-devil](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=level-devil).



> A request for a dear friend. Prompted a little by this picture: http://level-devil.tumblr.com/post/28566476345/when-jade-harley-went-off-on-her-college

It’s so cold here.

Jade Harley shivers and pulls her jacket tighter around her shoulders. She can see her breath, a thin, diaphanous cloud on the air. The sight had seemed really exciting when she first moved to upstate New York, as delightful as the crisp smell of autumn leaves and the brilliant white of her first snowfall. But after a month and a half here the newness of winter is already wearing thin – and it’s only November. It makes her homesick for the island, and she never thought she’d miss it this much. She misses her room. She misses her grandfather. She misses her dog. 

Blessed warmth envelops her when she finally reaches the library. It’s early still, which means it’s quieter than usual, and she’s thankful for that. She drops her bag and coat at a table and looks down at her hands – colorful bands are tied around her fingers, each reminding her of a different task. Except…she can’t quite recall what each one of them is for. Like this pale purple one on her ring finger – it stands for something very important, she’s sure, but…what?

The library stacks form a maze, and she wanders through aimlessly, staring at that little bit of purple string on her finger and trying to will meaning back to it. It’s being stubborn, though, and she’s about to tell it to just keep whatever infuriating secret it has when she walks right into something. Or, to be more accurate, right into someone.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! I’m so, so sorry! I wasn’t looking where I was going and I -“

“It’s quite alright.”

Jade gets a good look at the person – a girl – and all the sound suddenly escapes her voice. She’s a petite thing, pale and blonde and looking for all the world like some otherworldly spirit. She stares back at Jade with striking eyes – they look violet in this light – and an intense, direct expression.

“Um. I.” Jade stammers, her mind blank, every single one of her colorful reminders now nothing more than useless pieces of string. “I’m really sorry!”

She hurries away at breakneck speed, and it isn’t until she’s back in the safety of her dorm room that she realizes she left her coat sitting there in the library. Funny, then, how she hadn’t felt cold at all on the way back.

\- - -

“Hello, again.”

Jade starts at the mellifluous voice behind her, and turns to see the same ephemeral blonde from a couple of days ago standing there. Heat instantly flushes her cheeks, and she prays she doesn’t look as flustered as she feels.

“Oh, um, hi!” Jade grins again, sheepishly. “You’re the girl I ran into the other day. Um, literally. I’m really sorry about that, you know. I totally spaced out there.”

“It’s really not a problem. I was hoping that our paths would cross again.”

“Really?” This comes as surprise, and it’s obvious in Jade’s voice. “You were?”

“Yes. I believe that you forgot this.” She holds something up and Jade starts.

“My coat! You found it!” Jade clutches it to her. “Thank you so much! I left it behind and I thought I’d lost it forever.”

A cryptic little smile crosses the other girl’s face.

“I was, admittedly, somewhat concerned for your well-being when I realized you ran off without it.” She pauses, and reaches in the bag slung around her shoulder. “I hope it isn’t too forward of me, but, I thought you might like this, as well.”

The scarf she presses into Jade’s hands is green, unbelievably soft – hand-knit, and with obvious skill. Jade stares at it in wonder, holding it out from her like some fragile thing.

“Did you…make this?”

“Yes.”

“It’s beautiful! But, I…I can’t take this, it’s too nice!”

Suddenly the girl’s hands are on her own, and Jade’s breath catches in her throat. What is it about this girl, anyway, that makes her feel this way?

“No, please. I want you to have it,” she says, “It would mean a lot to me if you wear it.”

Jade blinks, then smiles.

“Well, if you put it that way…then thank you very much!” She says, “Oh! I didn’t even introduce myself. My name’s Jade Harley!”

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Jade. My name is Rose. Rose Lalonde.”

Their hands linger a while longer, and Jade is struck by just how warm Rose’s skin is. If only she could carry that warmth with her, keep it like some light beside her to ward off the winter chill…

She settles for keeping the scarf, wrapping it close around her and delighting in the softness of it, in the faint indescribably sweet smell lingering in the fibers. And the next time she glances at the little bit of purple tied around her finger, she knows exactly what it’s for.


End file.
